In spite of the protests around the world, the Japanese sent a fleet to the Antarctic waters to restart the so-called "scientific whaling." On September 5 last year, Japan launched the "Scientific Whaling" campaign in the fall, and planned to hunt up to 51 minke whales in about two months.

Experts say that Japanese whaling has a strategic purpose

The ban by the International Court of Justice only banned Japan’s whaling in the Antarctic waters, and Japan’s whaling activities in the offshore and Pacific Northwest waters have been ongoing. More than once, Japanese high-ranking officials have publicly asked the government to take the lead in eating whales in the name of “whale culture”. Why is Japan so keen on whaling and eating whales?

The island whale tradition in Japan, surrounded by the sea, has a long history. In the 17th century Edo period, fast-growing cities and a surge in urban populations gave rise to huge demand for blubber and whale meat. As a result, a group of whales as a professional group, the "Whale Group", has appeared in various parts of Japan.

Since 1909, the Japanese whaling fleet has been involved in the Antarctic waters. By 1936, the amount of whaling had accounted for 96% of the Japanese whaling.

Since modern times, whaling in Japan’s Dalat has been opposed and resisted by environmental groups. However, Xinhua News Agency Tokyo Branch reporter Lan Jianzhong said that the attitude of the Japanese side to whaling is not the same as that of the international community. "In fact, the international community has opposed the Japanese whaling. There has been a strong resistance in Japan because Japan is extremely extreme. Culture, he has an instinctive rebellious attitude toward criticism from the outside world. The more you criticize, the more he wants to confront you and show the strength of not admitting defeat. In addition to this psychological factor, whaling is also very big for Japan. The economic benefits. Whaling is said to have fed about 100,000 people. Since many workers in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector are supporters of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Democratic Party is not willing to cancel whaling in order to protect its support class. Self-employed groups also regard foreign voices against whaling as racial discrimination against Japan, which is considered to be the view of Western whites and does not respect Japanese food culture."

In fact, since the 1970s, most Japanese people have had little interest in whale meat. According to media reports, a previous survey by Greenpeace showed that more than 92% of Japanese people did not know that their government would kill more than 900 whales every year, and 69% did not support whaling in the open sea. Feng Wei, a Japanese expert at Fudan University, believes that the Japanese government's support for whaling around the world has a deeper strategic goal. Japan conducts whaling in the name of scientific research, and carries out more marine geology, marine climate, hydrogeography, etc. Aspect survey. This kind of survey is crucial for Japan to prepare for the unexpected.